2016 Champagne Leclerc Briant, Clos des Trois Clochers, Brut
Critics reviews
Disgorged in February 2022 as a brut zero (1g/L of dosage), Le Clos des Trois Clochers 2016 (100% Chardonnay) is showing superbly. It evokes aromas of pear, peach, spices, pastry, almond, and spring flowers intertwined with lemon oil hints. Enveloping and full-bodied, it’s sappy and creamy with a gastronomic profile concluding with a saline and sappy texture.
Drink 2022 - 2032
Yohan Castaing, Decanter.com (October 2022)
This rich and exuberant Chardonnay is grown on a 0.4ha plot surrounding Leclerc Briant's villa in Villers-Allerand on the Montagne de Reims. The nose is clean and pronounced, with high-quality oak expressing itself clearly and stylishly. In addition to crunchy orchard fruit, there is also a tropical pineappley edge to the frutiness. Really racy on the intense palate, which starts energetic but quickly turns into something more mellow and vinous. A joyfully fruity wine, bursting with energy.
Drink 2022 - 2029
Essi Avellan MW, ClubOenologique.com (August 2022)
About this WINE
Champagne Leclerc Briant
Champagne Leclerc Briant focuses on organic and biodynamic viticulture, working in harmony with nature to produce some of the region’s most exciting wines.
Lucien Leclerc founded the estate in 1872 in the village of Cumières. In the mid-20th century, in the hands of Lucien’s great-grandson, Bertrand Leclerc, and his wife, Jacqueline Briant, the operation was moved to the beating heart of Champagne, Epernay. Here it also took a new name – Leclerc Briant. Around the same time, the house started practising biodynamic viticulture (becoming one of the first in the region to do so), eventually earning certification in the 1980s.
Since 2012, Chef du Cave Hervé Jestin, formerly of Champagne Duval-Leroy, has refined the house style here. Working with organic and biodynamic fruit, he also practises biodynamic principles in the winery. Leclerc Briant has taken on new vineyards, renovated its facilities, and has a renewed, uncompromising focus on quality.
The traditional sparkling wine method here is low dosage, vineyard-specific, and extremely interesting. The popular Abyss cuvée is aged underwater. As of the 2012 vintage, Hervé Jestin and the team are responsible for making the wine at Château d’Avize, which they bottle under the Leclerc Briant label and sell through La Place de Bordeaux.
Blanc de Blancs
In Champagne, the term Blanc de Blancs designates Champagnes made only from Chardonnay grapes. The vineyards located between Cramant and Mesnil-sur-Oger in Côte des Blancs yield the best examples of the style.
A classic Blanc de Blancs is restrained and elegant when young, yet with ageing it develops a mouth-coating brioche richness that overlays an intense expression of fruitiness. Blanc de Blancs are endowed with longer ageing potential than a typical Blanc de Noirs.
Recommended Producers: Salon, Billecart Salmon, Jacques Selosse, Dom Ruinart, Krug, Le Mesnil Grand Cru, Guy Larmandier
Chardonnay
Chardonnay is often seen as the king of white wine grapes and one of the most widely planted in the world It is suited to a wide variety of soils, though it excels in soils with a high limestone content as found in Champagne, Chablis, and the Côte D`Or.
Burgundy is Chardonnay's spiritual home and the best White Burgundies are dry, rich, honeyed wines with marvellous poise, elegance and balance. They are unquestionably the finest dry white wines in the world. Chardonnay plays a crucial role in the Champagne blend, providing structure and finesse, and is the sole grape in Blanc de Blancs.
It is quantitatively important in California and Australia, is widely planted in Chile and South Africa, and is the second most widely planted grape in New Zealand. In warm climates Chardonnay has a tendency to develop very high sugar levels during the final stages of ripening and this can occur at the expense of acidity. Late picking is a common problem and can result in blowsy and flabby wines that lack structure and definition.
Recently in the New World, we have seen a move towards more elegant, better- balanced and less oak-driven Chardonnays, and this is to be welcomed.
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Description
100% Chardonnay
Exceptionally expressive nose, layered with exotic spices and tropical fruit. The palate is lifted and fresh with a strong core of acidity as is the way with Leclerc Briant wines. The palate is delicate with complex notes of ginger, cinnamon, saffron and white pepper. With a year in the bottle this should round out very nicely indeed.
Drink 2023 - 2030
Paul Keating, Account Manager, Berry Bros. & Rudd
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